Unlock holistic value through adaptive re-use & retrofit
Retrofitting and conversion of existing buildings continues to gain momentum in 2025, as global trends of aging building stock, supply shortages across sectors and in-demand locations, and increased ESG requirements are increasing the risk of a ‘do-nothing’ approach for developers, landlords and occupiers.
In 2025 this continued momentum will accelerate the role of design in unlocking holistic value from investment in sustainability features and building refurbishments. Effective strategies for existing buildings will go beyond improved energy efficiency and functional upgrades, taking a more holistic approach to retrofit design that can support talent and visitor attraction, brand strategy, community impact and improved health and wellbeing.
While JLL Research shows that 60% of employers plan to increase investment in building refurbishments in the next five years and increase investment in sustainability performance of real estate, sustainability demands are driven by both corporate commitments and changing employee expectations. Younger generations choose to work and live in environments that demonstrate sustainability credentials, with 72% of Gen Z and Millennials reporting they ‘always choose the most environmentally friendly option’ as consumers, compared to 55% of those aged 60 years and over.
Sustainable design will become more integrated with organizations branding, and visually demonstrating eco-credentials will be a design focus in 2025. We’ll see increased use of natural and recycled material palettes to create more tangible links between an organizational sustainability journey and visual identity, an important factor in talent attraction.
At an urban scale, sustainability-focused mixed-use regeneration will be key for ‘destination places’ centered around green spaces, community access and ‘science-led design’ that demonstrates sustainability and circular principles and showcases sustainable credentials.
Embrace AI tools for ‘science-led design’
From predictive building analytics to data-driven design tools, AI is emerging as both a driver and enabler of change across design, while the use of data, specialist analytics and predictive tools for ‘science-led design’ has been gaining traction in recent years.
The convergence of AI and ‘science-led design’ brings an exciting opportunity to design fields, not just for efficiency but for increased data integration in creative processes. This will also widen collaboration opportunities between designers and fields such as psychology, bio-medical and robotics.
‘Science-led design’ approaches bring research and data into creative processes to enhance decision-making with greater information about how a building or place might perform, or to assess the impact it will have on people or the planet.
A key driver behind this is the exponential growth of AI companies that are generating data and tools which could be leveraged in design. With global venture capital investment in Generative AI increasing from $2.3 billion in 2020 to $22.3 billion in 2023 and green building technology investment growing from $1.1 billion to $5.4 billion in the same period, we can expect AI to accelerate its influence on design in 2025.
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